How to Invite Guest Authors in GuestDock
Invite a guest author to WordPress with an expiration date and post limit, and control exactly what their sandboxed account can reach.
On this page
You invite a guest author in GuestDock by adding their email address, setting an expiration date, and setting a post limit. GuestDock generates the username from the email prefix, creates the sandboxed role, and closes the account automatically when the date passes — so access ends on the date you set, not the date someone remembers to revoke it.
Before you begin
- GuestDock installed and activated — see the GuestDock setup guide
- The contributor's email address
- An agreed article count and timeframe
Inviting a contributor
Open the guest management screen
In wp-admin, go to the GuestDock menu and choose the guests list. This screen is also where you will later edit limits and expiry dates inline.
Add the guest by email
Enter the writer's email address. GuestDock generates the username from the email prefix and creates the account with the sandboxed guest role — not the stock Contributor role.
Set the expiration date
Choose when access should end. For a one-off contribution, a two-to-four week window is usually enough to write, revise, and publish. The account closes itself when the date passes.
Set the post limit
Enter how many posts this guest may submit. The limit doubles as a contract: one agreed article means a limit of one, and the plugin enforces it so the queue never fills with unagreed drafts.
Send the invitation
The guest receives an email invitation. On first login they see an onboarding modal with your guidelines, then land in a workspace containing only their own content.
What the guest can and cannot reach
A sandboxed guest sees their own posts and drafts, and their own uploads — nothing else. The media library query returns only their files, other authors' posts are never listed, and settings, users, and plugins are blocked by capability checks enforced at runtime rather than hidden by the interface. Uploads are restricted to JPG, PNG, GIF, and WebP with strict MIME validation and per-user quotas.
If your contributors sign in with magic links, GuestDock works alongside Degird's AuthDock plugin — guests can authenticate with an AuthDock magic link instead of a password.
Managing guests over time
Both the expiration date and the post limit are editable inline from the guest list, so extending a productive contributor takes one field, not a new invitation. When you remove a guest, GuestDock reassigns their posts to an administrator instead of orphaning the content.
For open submissions, the [guestdock_request_form] shortcode places a frontend application form anywhere on your site, protected with a honeypot and rate limiting, so readers can apply and you approve contributors one at a time.
Next steps
GuestDock
Accept guest posts without handing out WordPress accounts — isolated submissions, editorial review, and zero dashboard access.
See also
Related documentation
- Getting Started With GuestDockInstall GuestDock on WordPress, run the setup wizard, and accept your first sandboxed guest post without giving away admin access.
- Reviewing Guest Post Submissions in GuestDockRun GuestDock's central review queue: preview submissions inline, approve and publish, or send feedback that emails the author.